'The EC should not have let the initiative go into the hands of the political leadership. By allowing this to happen, they have opened a Pandora's box.'
Glimpses from India and around the world that will make you smile and cry.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval stated that India-China relations have shown an "upward trend" in the past nine months, with peace prevailing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This statement was made during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the boundary issue, ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to China for the SCO summit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks focusing on economic ties and global stability amid trade tensions and the aftermath of the Ladakh border row.
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a devastating cloudburst in Kishtwar district that claimed 60 lives and injured over 100. Abdullah expressed condolences and assured assistance, while also questioning potential administrative lapses.
India and China are expected to discuss new confidence-building measures for durable peace and tranquillity along their contested border during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to India. The visit is seen as an effort to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes.
Heavy rains and landslides in Himachal Pradesh have resulted in multiple fatalities and widespread disruption, including road closures and train cancellations.
The family of an Army jawan, Kapil, recounts the brutal assault he endured at a toll plaza in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. They describe the attack and the injuries he sustained, while police investigate and make arrests.
A controversy erupted after a train with dilapidated and dirty coaches was provided to ferry Border Security Force (BSF) personnel from Tripura for deployment during the Amarnath Yatra in Kashmir, with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw suspending four officials and ordering an inquiry.
Relentless heavy rain led to a landslide on the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hill on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least five people and injuring 14, officials said.
A large crowd of devotees came to visit the temple, which is atop the Shivalik Hills at an elevation of over 500 feet, and a rumour about an electricity current leak triggered panic among them that led to pushing and shoving.
A group of kanwariyas allegedly vandalized a dhaba in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, claiming the Muslim owners displayed their identities. The incident follows a similar event and past controversies regarding religious identification of food vendors along the Kanwar route.
After record rains wreaked havoc in Jammu and Kashmir over the past two days, the death toll in related incidents rose to 41, most of them victims of the landslide on a Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route, while there was some let-up in the showers on Wednesday, allowing relief efforts to pick up pace.
A man running a community kitchen for pilgrims was rescued alive after being trapped under debris for 30 hours following a cloudburst in Kishtwar, Jammu & Kashmir. The disaster has left many dead or missing and the annual pilgrimage suspended.
Wang is travelling to India days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned trip to the Chinese city of Tianjin to attend the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
'The ruling elite are supporting those attacking the people of Gaza.' 'As a nation we should not cooperate with the oppressor regime that is allowing mass starvation as a weapon of war.'
The SC has sought a response from the Centre on a plea seeking the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun that India and China should maintain the positive momentum in the bilateral ties and avoid adding new complexities.
India has announced the resumption of tourist visas for Chinese nationals, signaling an effort to improve bilateral relations following border tensions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Japan and China starting around August 29. The visit to China would be his first after the Ladakh border standoff.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India focuses on border talks with NSA Ajit Doval, amidst efforts to rebuild relations after the Galwan Valley clashes and rising India-US tensions.
'There is a clear relationship between the Char Dham road widening and these landslides.' 'The situation has further worsened with the massive influx of tourists whose number are running into several lakhs per month.' 'No parameters have been laid down to control tourist inflow and the result is that the Char Dham yatra has seen a sharp escalation in accidents and loss of lives.'
Mahamandleshwar Swami Dharamdev said the yatra conveyed a powerful message of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood across the country.
China welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's planned visit to the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), expressing hope that the event will be a 'gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results'.
Two people died and 30 others were injured when a truck carrying kanwariyas came into contact with a hanging overhead power line in Alwar district, Rajasthan. The incident occurred during a parikrama, leading to protests and accusations of negligence against the electricity department.
'...they always address problems superficially, never tackling root causes.' 'Currently, the policy response will focus on immediate relief -- getting people to safety, providing facilities, clearing debris.' 'This is necessary, but once immediate relief operations end, everything returns to 'normal' without addressing underlying vulnerabilities.'
Rijiju also hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, saying that his own party MPs "get uncomfortable" when he speaks in Parliament and are apprehensive that he will do "anap-shanap baatein" and the party will have to bear the consequences.
According to a statement from the Rudraprayag police, the landslide was triggered by continuous heavy rainfall, which caused large amounts of debris and stones to fall onto the trekking route, blocking and damaging the walkway to Kedarnath Dham.
The first batch of pilgrims reached Kashmir on Friday for the annual Amarnath Yatra, beginning Saturday, with J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagging off 4,603 yatris in the morning from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas base camp in Jammu under a tight security cover.
Ahmedabad has been named the cleanest big city in the latest Swachh Survekshan, while Indore, Surat, and Navi Mumbai were recognized for exceptional sanitation efforts in a new 'Super Swachh League Cities' category.
Soon after the crash on Sunday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held an emergency meeting and asked senior officials to prepare a strict SOP (standard operating procedure) for heli services in the state, making a thorough check of the technical condition of the choppers mandatory.
Nine-year-old Devanshi was among the hundreds of pilgrims who had gathered in Chositi for the last leg of the yatra to Machail Mata temple when tragedy struck on Thursday. Buried under mud and debris when a Maggi-point shop was hit by flash floods, she emerged hours later, rescued by her uncle and other villagers.
The Congress party has accused the Modi government of a 'deny, distract, lie, and justify' (DDLJ) policy regarding China, alleging territorial setbacks and misplaced economic priorities.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday shared a video on martial arts sessions held at campsites of his east to west Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra earlier this year and said a 'Bharat Dojo Yatra' is coming soon.
A meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO summit is being planned.
After chairing an emergency meeting with senior officials to discuss the situation, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that heli services on the Char Dham route will remain suspended for two days, as the weather is bad and the safety of the passengers is the government's top priority.
India and China have announced a series of measures aimed at improving their relationship, including maintaining peace along the border, reopening border trade, and resuming direct flights.
The delayed timing of J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha's admission has more to do with deflecting the thrust of the Opposition attack on the prime minister and Union home minister during the monsoon session of Parliament, points out Mohammad Sayeed Malik, the distinguished commentator on Kashmir affairs.
'Often people outside paint a wrong picture of us of Kashmiris. We are not like that. We are cool and bindaas,' said the lady, a teacher, caressing my cheeks in the pressing crowds.